By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
Raton City Commissioners met on Tuesday November 25, 2025, to deal with capital outlay issues, zoning and purchasing including a ventilation hood at the Senior Center.
Commissioners heard from Dennis Romero about the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program. The program deals with pre-arrest diversion strategies rooted in harm reduction principles and case management. This program will work within the cooperative law enforcement initiatives under New Mexico criminal justice statutes and the local authority granted under the Raton municipal police powers.
The program also brings in social services and mental health services to help with drug addiction issues and those that repeat over and over. The program works to stop the cycle and allows officers to deal with other issues rather than being a mental health worker. This program is a grant funded program and funded for another two years. The program is looking for a case manager in the area to cover Colfax and Union counties.
Commissioners discussed the reauthorization of Governor’s Capital Outlay request for $2 million for the Buck Ridge Ranch. Last year the funds were allocated to build a new visitor’s center at Sugarite Canyon State Park. The city would like to reauthorize those funds for the purchase of the Buck Ridge Ranch to expand the park. The city will bring a resolution to the commission for approval to move forward with this reauthorization of funds at the next meeting.
Commissioners deliberated on this year’s capital outlay requests and approved these top five priorities on the list which include the Shuler Theater electrical upgrade at $550,000, Raton Animal Shelter replacement at $1,000,000, storm drainage repairs at $750,000, solid waste equipment at $400,000 and city building repairs at $1,000,000.
Commissioners approved the Film Permit for Plan B Ohio Production, LLC to do film work in Raton from December 4, 2025, through December 12, 2025. There will be road closures downtown and some residential areas during the filming for thru traffic. Residents will be able to come and go as needed.
Resolution 2025-71 authorizes the destruction of certain records held by the Raton Municipal Court. This is mostly a housekeeping activity that falls under the New Mexico Records Retention and Disposition Schedules and the requirements of the State Records Act. Commissioners approved the resolution.
Commissioners were presented with the final plat for subdivision at 24 Caviness Crossing Road. The property is located north of Highway 72 and east of Raton. The request will subdivide five acres into two lots of 2.5 acres in size. Planning and Zoning commission met and reviewed the final proposal voting 5-0 to approve and pass it on to the city commission for their approval. Commissioners formally approved the plat.
Commissioners received bids and recommendations for the bridge replacement project on Railroad Avenue. The city received three proposals for the work GM Emulsion was the low bid at $531,573 followed by H.O. Construction with a bid of $584,980. Hasse Contracting delivered a bid of $789,000. DOT provides $531,325 including a match from the city of 5%. Engineering Analytics is already under contract to provide design bid and construction management services in the amount of $85,000. The total amount of the project is $667,492.45 which is $136,166 over grant funding and city match. The city will pull $86,093 from an existing coop grant and $50,000 from the general fund to cover the total cost of the project. Commissioners voted to move forward with the replacement of the Railroad Street bridges based in part on safety needs.
Commissioners received estimates for the installation of a vent hood at the Senior Center for $70,679.95 including GRT from Mosark utilizing the state price agreement for the work. Not having the hood in place has caused hardship for the senior center. The estimate for the HVAC system was not received in time for Tuesday night’s meeting and will be presented at the next meeting.
Discussion about a new Fixed Base Operator at Crews Field Airport was discussed and awarded to KT Aero. The city put out an RFI and determined that the KT Aero proposal provided the least amount of disruption to the current contract that will run through April 16, 2028.
Commissioners were asked to approve an amendment to the FY25 Audit Contract with Carr, Riggs and Ingram, LLC. The amendment deals with an audit on federal grant monies but has been delayed due to the federal shutdown. There is no change in the audit costs, just delays in meeting the deadlines.
Commissioners approved the October 2025 financial report showing that the GRT continues to be above budget, this month at 5.94% above the budgeted amount. This leaves the city with some surplus however the gas tax remains a concern as it was again below expectations. Michael Anne Antonucci is trying to work with NM Tax and Revenue as several other municipalities in the state are seeing a big reduction in their gas tax as well.
City Manager Rick Mestas noted in the city manager’s report that the city staff has been meeting with the new commission elects to bring them up to speed on the inner workings of the city commission. Mestas also gave an attaboy to the New Mexico State Police for their help with the recent drive-by shootings.
Often Mestas ends his report with a few words, this report ends with information about animal control. He reported “Finally, I’d like to leave you with a few closing thoughts. In the next few weeks, we’ll be introducing a new contract between the City of Raton and the Humane Society. I know it’s been almost a year since we first talked about this, but there were several legal and practical issues we needed to work through to make sure we got it right.
Good, common-sense animal ordinances—paired with public education and fair enforcement—are important tools for any community. But they only work when all of us recognize that we share responsibility for the well-being of our animals and our neighborhoods.
Yes, the city will continue to review and update our ordinances as laws and community needs change. But at the end of the day, it’s the everyday actions of our residents—being responsible pet owners, following the rules, and staying informed—that make the biggest difference.
Animal control isn’t just a government job. It’s a partnership. A healthy, safe community for both people and animals depend on all of us working together.
It’s not the City, and it’s not the Humane Society, that will solve our animal issues. It will ultimately be the citizens of Raton.”
The next regular meeting for the Raton City Commission will be December 9th as the December 23 meeting was cancelled.
